D-Day from the air

Sixty-three years ago today, Tech Sgt. Bob Bollinger of the Army Air Corps arose at the usual hour but had little time for breakfast before there was an early-morning briefing.

"That's when I knew it was D-Day," Bollinger said.

He, along with hundreds of thousands of other Allied forces, had known a mainland invasion was coming, they just didn't know when or where.

Now Bollinger had a mission.

"At 6:30 we bombed Omaha Beach just before the invasion."

Bollinger, now 83 and living in Baldy Mesa, was a waistgunner on the Milk Run Special, a B-26 Martin Marauder that flew two missions June 6, 1944 - 63 years ago today.

The purpose of the first mission was to create foxholes on the beach for the Allied troops when they landed.

Bollinger remembered what an impressive sight the invasion was.

"There were ships of every shape and size filling the ocean."

As a waistgunner, Bollinger spent upwards of four hours a mission on his knees near the back of the plane, where there wasn't room enough to stand up. It was his job to fend off any German fighter planes that approached - which could come at any time.

"As soon as we took off and got into position, we were on the lookout."

In all, Bollinger flew 65 missions on the Milk Run Special, although many of the missions were not "milk runs" - easy missions with little danger. His crew caught flak, bursting anti-aircraft shells, on 55 of their flights.

Bollinger said the Milk Run Special caught quite a lot of flak from the Germans 88 mm cannons during their first run on D-Day.

"When a flak shell would explode, you could see a little burst of shrapnel, like a handful of gravel, hit the side of the plane. Then you would see a puff of smoke and the plane would fly through it. I still remember the smell."

Whenever another bomber was hit, they would all watch carefully to see how many parachutes appeared, so they could report the number of potential survivors when they returned.

Bollinger's second mission that day was a 12:30 bombing of two bridges several miles inland from Normandy's beaches in order to keep out German reinforcements. That mission, Bollinger recalled, was a true milk run.

He remembered having a gut feeling that day that the invasion would be a success, but he wasn't fully confident of victory until shortly after the Battle of the Bulge later that winter. On one day, his group lost 13 planes over the Belgian forests where American troops were surrounded.

Not long after the Battle of the Bulge, Bollinger's tour was over. He returned to Southern California and became a teacher. In 1952 he taught in a two-room schoolhouse in Adelanto.

But despite the many years that have passed since D-Day, the sights, sounds and feelings of that day will always be with him.
"I often have tears in my eyes when I think about it."

Matthew C. Durkee may be reached at 951-6226 or mdurkee@vvdailypress.com.